Eley 21 gram fibre wad

[Harry Lime]

Tried a few Eley 21grm fibre wad shells today ( a 'try out' gift from my local gunshop). Seemed to smash clays similarly to the 28grm load I normally use, but without the recoil.
Strange feeling actually, to fire my gun with almost no percieved recoil at all.
I'm happy enough to spend some cash and try some more, especially on some longer ranges. Admittedly, 25% less lead is a little worrying, so I guess that fact alone may make me try and be a bit more accurate.
Hopefully, they will be cheaper than my regular shell, so if I can shoot well with them, it's a 'win win' situation..Fingers crossed eh !

[filthy_phil]

I have just finished a 1000 21gr Express cartridges. I fully understand the comment about the recoil. I wouldn't say it wasn't there, but it felt a lot different. I did find a bit more comfortable with them when I tightened my chokes up. I didn't pattern plate the difference, so I am not sure it helped, could have just been my mind.

Worth a go I'd say!

[winchester101]

Hi guys.
Tried some Hull 21grm recently in my Browning fusion s/auto.
Probably a waste of time really as the recoil is soft enough with 28grm. They didn't cycle well either, but they did 'mash up them clays'

[The Great Cornholio]

They didn't cycle well either

A friend of mine recently had some trouble getting his Beretta semi-auto to cycle some of the cheaper 24 gram shells

[hopalong cassidy]

I have a Beretta semi auto, in fact i part exchanged my Beretta DT10 in for a Beretta Teknys Gold semi auto, which most would think i was crazy. The reason for this is that i have Osteoarthritis in all my joints, i found that after a short spell on a sporting layout i had severe pain in my shoulder leading up my neck and into my head. A friend suggested a lighter load cartridge which was slightly better but not nearly enough, and was beginning to think this could be the end of my shooting. That was until another friend suggested trying a semi, at first i was a bit loath to try one as i had a go with one before and was not very keen on it. Eventually i succumbed to the thought of trying one and the fact that i was struggling to enjoy my past time with the pain, i popped into my my local gun shop to find an almost new Teknys Gold. I liked the feel of it and was told i could try it, so i took it home and the following morning a very wet Sunday i took it out. Whilst it took a bit of getting used to and i cant tell you how many times i turned to eject the cartridges in the bin , to my surprise had no pain as there is so little recoil i was quite impressed.
Since then i have grown quite used to my new found friend and surprisingly shooting perhaps better with it as it seems to swing very nicely and must suit me. I have however tried some lighter cartridges through it and have found some problems, the Eley 21 gram went through no problem but Hull 21gram and Express 24 gram would fire but would not eject, so i went back to Eley Blues 28 grams as i used to use. They are fine, still very little recoil and i see no point in using a lighter load in a semi auto.
I now can carry on shooting . without the pain, for i hope a long time.

[winchester101]

Howdy Hopalong..
Glad to hear you've solved the problem of recoil. I guess we could all do with less, even if we don't actually percieve it.
I am seeing more and more semi's around nowadays, and can fully understand why. Sadly, my own experience of owning semi auto's so far is, breakdown upon breakdown..

Perhaps I'm just unlucky...

Does anyone else have problems with reliability ?

[filthy_phil]

Does anyone else have problems with reliability ?

For a long time I had a Browning Gold Semi Auto. And it was top notch. Really good system, never missed a beat. What I have seen over the last few years is the introduction of budget semi autos. And to construct those to a budget, corners are being cut. So hearing stories of broken cocking rods is not uncommon, or breakages of other parts which should have be machined but have been cast. Also, to make the designs work, things like rubber O rings need to be used, which perish. Something you won't find in a Browning or Beretta design.

The other thing you have to be vigilant about with a semi auto is cleanliness, and this is high on the list as to why people's semi become unreliable! These guns have a lot of working parts. Those parts easily get gunked up with carbon from the gases of the propellant. So the message from me is simple. You shoot it, you clean it.

[hopalong cassidy]

Interesting that the cheaper end of the market semi auto's seem to have problems, only the last shoot at my club a young chap was shooting with my friend and i and he had a cheaper end of the market semi auto which was three weeks old, having mentioned he had already had some problems went on a stand and on his second bird as he fired and the gun broke in two, leaving him with the stock in his right hand and the rest in his left. Could have been nasty He borrowed my semi for the rest of the shoot, i think i might have convinced him to spend a bit more and get a second hand Beretta.

[Harry Lime]

Hi Guys.
Finally finished testing the 21grm Eley shells, and my conclusions are.....

Obviously, throwing less lead at the target, there should be logically, 'less recoil' percieved, and of course there was. Strangely, not enough to convince myself to switch for that reason alone.
The lesser cost was barely a concern considering other cost's involved in shooting anyway.
They busted the clays as convincingly as my usual 28grm shells, although at longer ranges, my 'kill' count seemed to go down a little.

Now, 25% less lead did throw decent patterns on the paper plates, with little or no fliers, however, at the longer ranges the less lead in my pattern has given me cause to wonder.
So the nitty gritty of it all is...Personally, if I were to suffer from recoil issues, I would change to a semi-auto rather than reduce the payload of my shell, so until everyone is shooting lower weight loads, I.E, a 'level playing field', I shall be sticking to my 28grm's..